The Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases Unit at Institut Pasteur which is directed by Simon Cauchemez was created on November 1st 2013.
The research focus of the Unit is to develop state-of-the-art mathematical and statistical methods to tackle the many challenges epidemiologists and microbiologists face when analysing infectious disease data.
Our primary focus is the study of epidemics and outbreaks (for example, the emergence of chikungunya in the Caribbean, of MERS-CoV in the Middle East or of Ebola in Guinea). We aim to better understand how pathogens spread in human populations with a view to support policy making and optimize control strategies. These analyses benefit from a strong network of collaborators in the field (in particular within the large International Network of Pasteur Institutes) but also of strong connections with other excellence Centers in the field of mathematical modelling.
Our secondary objective is to develop mathematical models that can be used to better characterize the infection process from experimental data. There is indeed a unique set of expertise and competences in microbiology at Institut Pasteur and we aim to develop innovative statistical and mathematical techniques to get more insights from the complex experimental data they generate.
Our approach is therefore highly multidisciplinary, looking at infectious diseases through multiple perspectives (epidemiology, surveillance, Public Health, policy making, microbiology), multiple scales and multiple data streams.